Echizen surviving in the woods!
by zuppercat
Summary: The regulars are going on a camping trip when something terrible happens to Echizen. He falls down a cliff and now has to survive in the Woods. The coach, the first years and Tezuka aren't coming with them. But that doesn't mean we won't follow them.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, my name is Sacha. Well my username is zuppercat.. but.. it doesn't really matter how you call me. ;) I'm new here sooo.. first story. :p **

**Oh and sorry for my bad English sometimes. I'm from Holland and I'm still learning English, but I decided to write it in English anyway. :p**

**This story will be about 'prince of tennis' so have fun!**

**The regular team is going on a training camp, but then something terrible happens to Echizen. **_**(I prefer the name Echizen by the way. Since it's a lot easier to say then the name Ryoma. Yeah, yeah, I know Ryoma is his first name but.. well.. never mind. :p )**_

**Oh yeah almost forgot: I'm not always using –kun, –san, -sama and stuff like that. I mean I like it but.. I'm not always sure who uses what for which person. **

**Oh and: When I read the stories of others there always stands this before the story begins. I don't know why, but I guess I'll do it anyway. (Who knows. Maybe you're not allowed to read it without it.) **

**So here goes.**

**I do not own prince of tennis or any of the characters. I also didn't steal the story of anyone. I thought of it myself. **

**So here goes. **

**Let's start the story! **

**# #**

It's the first day of training camp. A week ago Tezuka and Oishi had announced that the regulars would be going on a camp trip in about a week. But only the regulars this time had the coach and Tezuka said. The coach was needed at the tennis courts, the five first years had some other trip going on and Tezuka would be staying at the tennis courts as well. (He apparently didn't need more training. It also wouldn't hurt to train the second years a bit. Have fun with Tezuka second years :p)

*'I'll leave you in charge of the training camp, Oishi.' Tezuka said. Oishi nodded and the training began. *

Well.. Echizen had to go on the first years trip as well.. but..

Well, let's say he got himself out of it. Somehow. I mean Echizen mode. So that just meant not going on the trip without the teachers knowing.

*In the first years bus*

Horio said annoyed: Echizeeeeeen..! Where are you?! You set us up didn't you?! Now WHERE in trouble cause YOU'RE not here!

'Calm down, calm down Horio-kun.' Kato said. 'It's not like he did it without a reason.'

'Yeah, that's right Horio-kun. I mean he had training camp with the other regulars. And that's very important to you know.' Said Mizuno.

Kato signed and said: 'And well.. it's not an exciting trip anyway. I mean Echizen would probably be asleep the whole trip. So it wouldn't really matter anyway.'

Horio's expression chanced to the '2 year's experience face' and said: 'Of course I knew that! I knew 2 years ago that you where planning this Echizen!' Then he began laughing.

The other two sighed, looked out of the window und mumbled: 'Then what where you saying a few minutes ago. You didn't even knew him two years ago.'

In case you were wondering. The first years were going to the museum that day. Watching the paintings was kind of ok but.. The thing was..The teachers.. They would go talk happily about the paintings for hours. The worst thing was that it was the history teacher who went with them. The most boring teacher of the school. Everyone was sooo exited. *Ehum, not.*

So they didn't blame Echizen. No that's not quite right. They would love to switch with him. But oh well. Not that they could do something about it.

'We'll endure it..!' they thought bravely and sighed.

# #

*In the meantime at camp.*

They had just gotten out of the bus and walked to the house they were staying in. 'Hoi, hoi!' Kikumaru said happily looking at the house they would be staying in.

'Whoaaa..' Momo said. 'So big..!'

'Tsssshhh.. Little child.' Kaidoh mumbled.

'WHAT DID YOU SAY! HUUUHH!' Momo screamed.

'I SAID LITTLE CHILD! TSSSHHH..!' Kaidoh screamed back.

'Come on, come on.. we just got here. So stop fighting ok?!' Oishi said trying to stop the fighting.

'Hmpf.' They both said. Getting even angrier at each other for saying it at the same time.

Oishi sighed and walked to the door.

Just when they wanted to go inside Oishi suddenly stopped. (Causing everyone to bump into each other and also a lot of complaining and yelling.)

'Oshiii...' Said kikumaru with kitten eyes. 'Don't stop so suddenly.. It was just getting fun..!' He said again with kitten eyes. **(Normally puppy eyes but since it's kikumaru I'll chance it to kitten eyes. :p )**

'What's wrong, Oishi?'Said Fuji calm as always.

'Seems like someone is skipped his museum trip.' Inui mumbled writing on his notebook. **(Notebook right? I'm not sure..)**

Kikumaru, Momo and Kaidoh looked confused around. Not getting it of course.

'I don't get it..' Said Kikumaru with his whining and sad voice. **(I just love that about him ^_^)**

'Echizen, weren't you supposed to be at a museum trip?' Said Oishi.

Echizen: 'Well.. Yeah.. I guess.. But.. I thought.. I'd skip it.'

Oishi sighed and aid: 'Well, I guess it's ok. Since this training camp is quite important.'

Kikumaru ran to Echizen, gave him a big hug and said: 'Yeah, it's no fun without shorty! (Ochibi)' Echizen looked annoyed and tried to pull kikumaru away from him. (What took a few seconds.)

They stepped in the big house and looked around. After 2 minutes Kikumaru and Momo had already scanned all the rooms.

'WHOOAAA! WHAT A BIG BADROOM!' Kikumaru yelled from the room at the left. And then another voice came (Momo) from the room at the right: 'Hey look, a spider!'

'Whoaa, let me see! Let me see!' Kikumaru said at the left side of the house and then suddenly at the right side of the house. 'Whoaa, so big!' Kikumaru said 'Do you think it would become a ghost if we killed it?'

Kaidoh's face became pale.

'Don't know' Momo said 'we could try it!'

Kaidoh became even paler and said 'I.. ehh..I-I'm going t-to the t-toilet!'

Before Kaidoh could escape Oishi said: 'Kikumaru, Momo, were not here to play! Today we got a training schedule as well. Inui made it for us.'

Everyone except Fuji and Oishi looked with a frightened look at Inui. Scared for his special Inui juice.

'Don't worry. No Inui's juices for the first 3 days.' Inui said. They all looked relieved.

# #

*Later on the tennis grounds*

They played some matches and did a lot of running through the mountains. **(Sorry didn't mention that. They are in the mountains with a lot of trees and rivers and stuff like that. Animals to of course. :p )**

They sat on the ground tired of all the running and all the other exercise. They had walked what seemed like hours.

'We're done running right..?!' Echizen said. 'BURNIIINNGG! I COULD RUN FOR TEN MORE HOURS AND...' Said Taka-san. He stopped talking and let himself fall tired on the ground. His racket fell on the ground and he said: 'Never mind.. I can't take another step...'

They lay there tiredly for another 5 minutes until Oishi and Inui stood up.

They all looked at the two and then said:

'Well let's get to the next part of training.' Fuji said with a smile.

'Eeehh.. no more training please..' Said Kikumaru.

Echizen: Annoying**. (Sorry that he isn't too much in the story yet. Don't worry it's almost his spotlight time. ;) )**

Taka-san: No..burning... **(Well I guess he wouldn't say that but he had to say something.)**

Kaidoh: Tssshhhhhjjjj...

Momo: ... X_X ... **(had to do that one :p )**

'Sorry but we aren't done with training yet. There is one last thing on the schedule.' Said Oishi.

Inui (with is emotionless voice) : Always do what the schedule says.

They looked annoyed at the two but stood up anyway.

'Ok, let's see. The last thing on the list is ball practise. I'll throw a ball at you and you hit it as high as possible and into the basket standing over there.' Inui pointed at a basket standing 20 meters away.

A few meters at the left of the basket we're a few trees standing. You couldn't see what was behind the trees.

They started practise, it wasn't so hard. Echizen looked bored standing at the side of the basket. They said he had to pick up the balls who went behind the baskets.

'Why me?!' Echizen had said annoyed.

'Cause you're still a first year. And first years still have to pick up balls.' Said Momo with a smile. Well it was more like an evil smile.

'Fine..' Echizen had mumbled.

So there he was now standing bored next to the basket. It was Taka's turn. They gave him his racket and he got the BURNINGGG passion. But he was a bit too excited about it, cause he missed the first one. The ball flew over the trees and Echizen looked annoyed and a bit angry at Taka and the trees.

'Sorry, Echizen.' Taka said. 'Nah.. it's okay.' Echizen said.

Momo shouted: 'Hey Echizen are you going to look for the ball or what?!'

'Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going' Echizen said annoyed.

He walked over to the bushes and trees. 'It's not here.' He said barely looking. Momo sighed and said: 'Well, it got to be somewhere.. Look around more.'

'Ochibiiiiii! Hurry hurry!' (Kikumaru)

'Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going!' Echizen said annoyed. 'Gees so annoying. It's just a tennis ball.' He thought.

Looking around a bit more he saw the tennis ball laying on the branch of a tree. What he didn't see was that he was standing on the etch of a cliff. Underneath the cliff was a streaming river flowing to the right. It was a pretty rough river, with rocks and branches sticking out of the water.

When he tried to reach the tennis ball (standing on his toes) he heard something crumble under is feet. Surprised he looked down. 'Did you hear that?' Echizen said to the others. 'No, what's wrong?' Oishi said. 'Don't know.. that's what I'm wondering right now. I heard something crumble under my feet.' **(crumble. Did I get that right? Like.. little rocks falling down.)**

Oishi frowned and said to Echizen: 'Maybe you should get back.. What if it's dangerous..' Echizen got a bit annoyed of the Oishi mother talk and said: 'Well the tennis ball is right in front of me so I'll just go and get it. I don't see what could be so dangerous about it.'

Echizen had never been so wrong before. Again he heard something crumble under his feet. But this time he didn't even get the time to look down, because he was already falling down. He fell into the water what all made a lot of sound. He didn't yell of course that was just to childish.

'Echizen..? What's wrong..? Are you alright..?' Taka-san said worried.

They heard nothing. It was silend for a few seconds and the rest also called his name.

'Ochibi? Ochibi come on this is no fun...' (kikumaru)

'...' (Kaidoh)

'HEY ECHIZEN!' (Momo)

'Looks like something happened.' Fuji said calmly. But if you looked closely you could see the worry in his eyes.

Oishi walked closer and could now see the cliff and the river. His eyes widened. He looked shocked. 'Oh no.. Echizen.. Fell.. down...the cliff...In the river...'

'Calm down Oishi, we'll get him back..!' Fuji said also looking worried. They didn't know what to do until Inui broke the silence.

'Well, it won't help him if we stay standing here. We better call the police, school and his parents.'

'Inui's right.. We..we should get some help..' Oishi said still a bit shocked.

# #

*In the meantime in the river.*

Echizen was barely able to keep his head above water. 'What a strong stream..' He thought with a bit of fear. He was never afraid but.. this was something else.

His head hurt a bit and his left arm was stinging as well.

After a while it looked like the river was ending. He tried to see what it was, until he shockingly found out that there was a big waterfall ahead. He started panicking a bit when he saw the waterfall. While trying to get to the side the waterfall came closer and closer.

10 meters

8 meters

5 meters

2 meters

0...

It was too late, the waterfall was just too strong. He fell down what seemed like forever. The waterfall was like 10 to 15 meters high.

Luckily the river had stopped here. It was just a little lake of 10 meters long. He swum to the side and got out of the little lake.

He took a few steps and then fell down unconscious. A small stream of blood flowed from his face. On his left arm you could see some blood too. A few hours went by as he lay there unconscious. It was starting to get dark when he finally woke up.

'Where..am I..' Echizen said confused as he looked around. There where trees standing everywhere and in the middle of it there was a little lake and a waterfall.

No human's to be found..anywhere...

**Well that was it for the first chapter. Hope you liked it ;) :p Let's see how he'll survive in the woods. **

**Bye! See ya next time! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyy! I'm back! Second chapter. Let's see what happens! Please comment and say what you think about the story. Oh and it would be great if you leaved some suggestions on what they could do next. **

# #

Echizen rubbed in his eyes. 'What happened..?' He thought. He tried really hard to remember. 'What was it.. I was playing tennis and...and then.. what happened then..' Suddenly his eyes shot open. 'Oh yeah I remember! I was on training camp and then I fell down a cliff and into a river. Then there was a waterfall... and.. um.. after that.. um.. I don't remember.. Well I guess I ended up here after that.'

For now he had to get out of here. He looked around and saw nothing but trees. '...' Maybe he had to walk very long before he could get out again. If he remembered correctly there was a little town at the other side of the forest. So that meant he had to go through the forest first. And who knows how long that was.

Well.. It was not like he had another choice. It's true that he could go back the way he came from but... That would mean he had to: Climb the rocks beside the waterfall, swim through the strong river and then again climb the other rock wall. NO WAY! Well it would be impossible to begin with, but that wasn't the only thing. He was FAR too lazy for that, it would be so much easier to just walk through the forest. 'Well then that's what I'll do.' He thought.

He stood up and felt slightly dizzy. He felt something dripping on his forehead. He took it off with his hand and saw that it was blood. And not just a little, it was kind of streaming over his face. He had to held his eye closed because of it. 'Well, it's good that I'm standing beside this little lake than huh.' He said to himself. He washed of most of the blood on his face. While he was at it he washed his bleeding arm as well. Both wounds weren't completely clean but well whatever. The bleeding hadn't stopped yet but he guessed it would be just fine. He looked at the red spot on his t-shirt and sighed. He would buy a new one later so.. well never mind.

He actually wanted to start walking already but.. It was getting dark so.. he'd better stay here for the night. Maybe he should get to a safer place first. Like the forest. That should be save. He walked into the forest and climbed into a tree what looked save and steady. He was surprised by himself that he was actually sleeping in a tree. He fell asleep quickly after that.

# #

Let's go back to the moment Echizen had just fell of the cliff.

A few miles further and a few cliffs higher the other regulars we're panicking since Echizen had just fell of the cliff.

Inui said they should call the police, his parents and school. So they did.

His mom was quite worried but his dad had said: 'That brad's probably playing tennis in the forest right now. Don't worry he'll come back.' Rinka **(name of** **Echizen's mom if I'm right.)** had made an angry sound to her husband. Well.. they weren't sure but.. At the same time they knew that that was probably the case.

When they called school Tezuka and the coach we're quite angry. Oishi signed to the others to step back a bit and he put the phone down as quiet as possible. Then he too walked away slowly.

They could hear the coach scream through the phone while they we're standing on the other side of the room.

Kikumaru put his hands against his ears and looked at Oishi with an: 'Oishiiiii...' face on.

Oishi put an: 'I know.. I know.. Keep it up. You can do it!' face on and Kikumaru nodded understanding. He had to be brave!

Kaidoh looked in disbelief at the two. 'They can understand each other..? HOW?!' Kaidoh thought not understanding.

When the screaming was finally over they sighed in relief. Oishi went to pick up the phone. Just before they hang up he could swear he heard Tezuka mumble: 'You let your guard down.' He wasn't sure if it was meant for them or for Echizen. 'Ah well, never mind.' He thought.

Inui just came back from calling the police. 'They will be here any minute.' He said. 'There going to search the place so don't touch anything close to the spot Echizen fell. Oh and Kikumaru don't even think of coming near it!' Inui said. Kikumaru blinked in surprise. He didn't get it. 'Why..?' He said. Inui sighed and said: 'Just.. don't come near it.. please..'

Kikumaru still didn't get it but nodded anyway. 'Okay..' He said.

The police arrived and asked everyone some questions. It we're just normal questions about what happened and stuff like that. **(Since you guys already know what happened.)**

While doing that some other policemen we're looking at the spot Echizen fell down. They picked up rocks and some other stuff and put in a plastic bag. They put the plastics bags at the side and put some words on them.

They also took a lot of pictures and wrote things down on their notebooks.

The only one that seemed to get what they we're doing was Inui. (who wrote things down as well. Who knows what.)

Maybe Fuji understood as well but.. you just can't see what he's thinking. If we knew that the world would be so much easier. Even Inui doesn't know what Fuji is thinking. Now you see how creepy he can be. **(Not in a mean way. :p I believe they always say that when they don't know what Fuji is thinking or if he says something unexpected. :p )**

The police came and went without saying much. They send a helicopter to search the area. (A car or a boat or whatever wouldn't be possible. You can only get there by foot or by helicopter.)

When it was getting dark they stopped looking. Well, for that day then. They would search again tomorrow.

The regulars we're all worried about Echizen. Who knows what happened to him. They could barely sleep.. They we're really really really worried about Echizen..

'...' Momo stood up, 'I-I'm going to look for Echizen!' He said.

Taka-san: 'Wait Momo.. I know you're worried about him.. we all are.. but.. We have to go to sleep for Echizen!'

'Go to sleep for Echizen..? Why?! He's somewhere out there in the forest while we are sleeping here! And you want me to go back to sleep!?'

Taka-san looked sad and said: 'I know what you mean but.. What would Echizen say in a situation like this?!'

Momo was quiet for a few seconds, then he looked down knowing what Taka-san meant.

He said quietly: 'He would say: What are you doing?! Like you can see anything in the dark! It's annoying. Even if you would do that, you would be too tired to do anything when there was finally sunlight again. Anyway don't bother doing something annoying. I can take care of myself you know!' **( I guess Echizen wouldn't talk that much but.. Well I hope you get my point. ;) :p )**

Everyone started to smile hearing this. 

'..Sorry..for getting mad at you, taka-san..' Momo said feeling guilty.

'Nah, it's okay. We all know how you feel. Where all worried about Echizen.' Taka-san said. They all nodded at what Taka-san said.

They all went to sleep dreaming about how they would rescue Echizen.

# #

The night went by and the sunlight came back. Echizen was slowly awakening as he suddenly shut his eyes wide open. 'I-t-t... (pain)' he said rubbing his back. Apparently he had moved a bit while awakening and had fell down the tree. 'That hurt..' He said annoyed. He wondered we're he was looking around seeing trees everywhere. 'Oh! I remember!' He said. He wondered why he kept forgetting it but well whatever.

He felt pain in his head and left arm as he remembered he had injured it yesterday. When he felt his head and looked at his arm he saw that the wounds we're bleeding again. He sighed and decided to just walk further or else he would never reach the town at the other side of the forest. He started walking while looking at his hand what still had some red blood on it. He used his shirt to wipe it off. He looked at his shirt and laughed a bit.

What would the others say when they saw the red blood spots on his shirt?

'Oh no Echizen what happened to you?!' Oishi would say.

'Hey Echizen we're you playing with paint or something?!' Momo would say laughing.

'BURNIIINGG!' Taka-san would say. Well, only if he had his racket or something else in his hand.

'Tsssschhhhh.. Idiot.' Kaidoh would say.

'Echizen what did you do while we we're away.' Fuji would say calmly with a smile.

'Waaahh! Ochibiiii!' Kikumaru would say. Then he would hug him so tight that he wouldn't be able to breathe.

Tezuka would say emotionless: 'Echizen, you let your guard down.'

The coach would probably order everyone around and get mad at Echizen and then mad at the others as well for who knows what reason. He smiled by thinking about them.

'Oh but wait. I forgot the five other first years.' He thought. 'Ah well never mind. Four of them would probably be worried and the other one.. name...name.. Korio... Morio.. Oh right Horio! That was it! Well he would be mad at me for tricking him.' He thought smiling. 'I wish I could have seen it..' He thought thinking about how angry Horio must have been. 'Well let's just get out of this forest fast.' He thought.

While walking in the forest he started to get a bit bored so he looked around in the hope to see something interesting. He grabbed a stick not really knowing why and swung with it like it was a tennis racket. He couldn't play tennis because off all this he thought annoyed. He looked at the stick broke it and walked further. 'All that just didn't make any sense at all..' he thought a bit confused.** (Well I actually thought that just a few seconds ago. This really didn't make any sense at all! XD But oh well.. never mind.. :p )**

While walking further through the forest he started to get hungry. 'I wonder if there's some food somewhere..' He thought. 'Maybe if I found some animals I could follow them to somewhere where was food.' He really hoped there was food somewhere, if there wasn't than.. 'Well let's not think about that..!' He thought trying to get that thought out off his head.

Just when he was thinking about all this something popped out of the tree and into a hole in another tree. He was very curious so he walked over to the tree and looked inside of it. It was dark so he didn't see anything. Just when he wanted to step back because he didn't see anything something grabbed his head. He stepped back struggled to stay standing and get the thing of his head. He tried to pull it off, but that didn't work. The thing was scratching his head what hurt pretty bad. It was a small animal that was for sure but.. What animal was it?! His claws we're pretty sharp, so that hurt quite a lot.

'I-T-T! Let go of me already!' He said angry. But it just didn't want to let go. 'What did I do wrong?!' He said annoyed. 'LET GO! YOU STUPID... ehm... I don't even know what you are! LET GO, LET GO, LET GO!' He was starting to get really annoyed, but he just couldn't pull it off.

'Fine you win!' He said after a while off struggling. Then he sat down and sighed in defeat.

Apparently that was just the thing the little animal was waiting for. The little animal let go and ran away.

'What the..!? A squirrel..? Seriously?! HEY WAIT COME BACK HERE! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET, STUPID SQUIRREL!' He said and yelled angry at the squirrel. He quickly stood up and ran after the squirrel while rubbing his sore face what was spread with scratches.

The squirrel was pretty quick so he had to run as fast as he could. While running he looked at the squirrel the whole time instead off the things in front of him. So he didn't see that there was a big puddle full off mud ahead.

When he finally realized it, it was too late. The squirrel jumped into a tree and Echizen fell into the deep puddle full off mud.

It was deeper than he thought it would be.. It was so deep that he wasn't even able to stand in there. After a lot off struggle he finally got out. He was brown from head to toe. **(That's something we always say in Holland 'Hij was ... van top tot teen.' That means: 'He was ... from top to toe.' I thought they said it English as well but then with the word head in it. Well.. I don't know.. never mind. XD I just meant he was brown from the mud everywhere. :p Let's get going with the story. :p)**

'Aahh gross!' He said.

The mud was dripping off everywhere when he tried to get it off a bit. It didn't help one bit and there was no water to be found. He used some leaves to get the most off his hands and face cause that was quite annoying.

The mud around his wounds had turned red of the blood. Since he didn't have any bandages or water to wrap and clean the wounds he just let it be as it was. Maybe it would stop the bleeding a bit. Well he hoped it would. Though it started to hurt a bit….

'It seems like I got really bad luck today..' Echizen said sighing. He looked around in the hope that there was food around here somewhere. Then he saw the squirrel again, now he really got mad at him.

'YOU STUPID SQUIRREL! COME BACK HERE! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!' He yelled at the squirrel while running.

He wondered where the squirrel was going. They we're going left and right and left and right and right and right and left and left and right and left and.. and.. 'which way did he go?' He said. 'Oh there you are!' He said while running angrily at the squirrel. But as he was running he slowed his pace and eventually stopped running.

The squirrel was sitting in front of a big bush of strawberries.

'...'

'..You let me to this didn't you..? I know you still did the other two things on purpose but.. thanks..'

The squirrel looked at Echizen like he was saying: 'That was just something to let you pay for the strawberries. And it was kind of fun too I guess.' It almost seemed like the squirrel was smiling.

Echizen smiled and said: 'Thanks. I guess.. I guess I'll let you off this time. Until we see each other next time.' He smiled and it almost seemed like the squirrel did to.

The once his enemy but now his friend jumped into the trees and was quickly out off sighed. Echizen was still smiling while he ate the strawberries. He decided he could take a rest before he moved on.

After eating a bit he stopped and looked at the puddle full off mud. 'I still don't get one thing..' He said, 'WHY IS THERE SUCH A BIG PUDDLE OFF MUD IN THE FOREST!? I MEAN THAT'S JUST NOT NORMAL.' He sighed and continued eating the strawberries.

**# #**

**Well that was the end of the chapter. A kind of liked the part with the squirrel. **

_**If you got a good idea for the next chapter please commend about it!**_

**I would like to hear your ideas! Something about Echizen in the forest or something about the rest who are searching for Echizen.**

**Bye See guys next time :p !**


	3. Chapter 3: Stupid squirrel! You again!

**I'm back! **** So I stopped writing for like 2 days or something, sorry about that.. XD I just didn't really feel like writing but oh well. :p **

**Oh and no he won't die. ;) That wouldn't be fun. :p**

**But.. maybe I could let him run into weird things like.. ehm.. a witch or something. Then he would drink a potion and change into an animal or something. Then the others would find him and take him in as a pet. Well I don't really know.. **

_**IF HE COULD SOMEHOW CHANGE INTO AN ANIMAL WHICH ANIMAL WOULD IT BE?! AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?! PLEASE COMMENT ABOUT IT! Sorry I had to get everyone's attention! :p **_

_**Maybe he changes into a black cat and remembers everything but can't talk to his annoyance. (Maybe with a child body and black cat ears and tail. And then he won't remember anything.)**_

**Suggest something. :p **

**I think I am going to let the squirrel come back again. But I'm not sure about that either. :p We'll see. ;) **

**So let's start the story! :D**

**# #**

It had been 5 days since Echizen was lost in the forest. There wasn't much food and water in the forest so he had to eat and drink as much as he could when he did find something. Water was no problem at the moment cause it had rained a while back. He could just lick the water of the leaves. First it was kind of gross but.. after a while he got used to it. And about the food.. well.. there wasn't much but.. sometimes there we're berries he could eat. He was getting really skinny and a bit pale. (To his annoyance)

The wounds we're starting to heal a bit but.. they we're still quite big. (Wound on his left arm, wound on his head and the scratches on his face. Well.. the scratches he got from the squirrel we're almost healed. And don't forget that he was fully covered in mud. Oh and the blood on his shirt as well.)

Echizen was walking though the forest just like any other day. And it was getting reeeeeally boring! The thing he didn't get was that he was walking for a very long time already and there was still no sign of a village. ´Stupid forest..´ He mumbled.

It was in the middle of the night when Echizen suddenly woke up. There was a weird noise coming out of the trees.. He looked up in the trees but couldn't see anything. He was almost sure that the noise came from that direction... It was really dark so he had to rely on his ears. He closed his eyes and tried really hard to listen.

*crack* *crack* *crack*

'What the..?!'

*crack* *crack*

'Who´s there?!'

*CRACK*

*PIEEEEP*

*O_O ... piep..?*

*PIEEEP! :D*

´WHAAAA WHAT´S GOING ON? GET OF ME!´

He walked around trying to get the thing of his face. Wait.. didn´t something like this happen before..?! Then he remembered!

´AH! ... YOU!´

´STUPID SQUIRREL!´ (Let´s say he uses this as a nickname for the squirrel. :p )

A few moments of silence..

Echizen said annoyed: ´...Will you get of my face please?!´

*Piep..* said the squirrel and he jumped off.

´Sooo... Why are you waking me up in the middle off the night?!´

Echizen could swear he saw a grin on the face off the squirrel.

´Let me guess: You.. just felt like it...´ The squirrel nodded and Echizen sighed. ´Well.. I guess it´s fine but.. DON´T WAKE ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OFF THE NIGHT YOU STUPID SQUIRREL! DIDN´T YOU SEE THAT I WAS SLEEPING?!´ He yelled.

(In an anime the ears off the squirrel would probably be blown backwards and he would have to grab on to something so he wouldn´t be blown away. :p )

They both looked annoyed at each other for a few moments when Echizen finally said: ´Well I´m going to go back to sleep again if you don´t mind. Do whatever you want.´

Squirrel: *... T_T ...*

...

Echizen: ´... What...´

The squirrel bit in his finger and Echizen reaction was like:

´... O_O I-T-T-T! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?´

Squirrel: *... T_T ...*

´What?! It´s in the middle of the night! Let me sleep already!´

And then the squirrel was like: *...no... T_T ...*

´What? Why?´ Echizen said getting really really really annoyed right now.

The squirrel turned around and ran a few meters away from him. Then turning around again signing that he had to follow him. Echizen sighed and ran after him.

After a while they came by a small wooden hut. ´There live people here?!´ Echizen said looking at the hut curiously. ´You could have waited until morning you know. They are probably not even awake yet.´ Then he saw that the doors we´re slightly open. The wood was old and the windows didn´t had any glass in them. It didn´t seem like anyone lived in there.

The squirrel ran into the hut with Echizen following him. ´Hey wait up!´ He said while running after him.

The hut was completely empty. And kind off old.. ´Seems like it´s been abandoned ages ago..´ Echizen said looking around. There was a weird squirrel smell hanging in the room. ´Do you live here?´ Echizen said to the squirrel. The squirrel didn´t answer but it seemed like he was right.

´Thanks for letting me stay here at the night..!´ Echizen said to the squirrel. He was really thankful since he didn´t like to get wet from the rain. It happened once and he didn´t want that again. He had to walk in wet clothes all day long. Causing him to sneeze for two days long.

They both went to sleep on the wooden floor and closed their eyes.

Not long after that they fell deep asleep.

**Sorry sorry for the short chapter..! I just didn´t have much time but wanted to give you guys a new chapter anyway. **

**Please comment about what should happen after this! **

**Should I let Echizen transform into an animal like a cat or squirrel? And then: completely into an animal or into a little human (child) with animal ears and tail. **

**Or something completely different? Like getting attacked by a bear or a wild cat. **

**Should I let the squirrel stay with him or not? And if he would stay with him: Would he then even stay with him after Echizen goes back to the real world again or would he say goodbye to the squirrel then? **

**It would be great to hear your opinions! :D**

**BYEEE! **


	4. Chapter 4: Tezuka Troubles!

**Hello I'm back! Someone asked me to do a part about Tezuka yelling against the other regulars. But since their still on training camp Tekuka has to come too them I guess. **

**I am not sure if I will have much time to update since I got a...(how do you call that..? test week? For school I mean. I'm in the last year so we're almost starting with exam practise and stuff.) But we'll see. ;)**

**Let's start the story. :p**

**Tezuka Troubles!**

*Back at the training camp.*

Oishi: '...Ehm..guys.. Tezuka is coming...today...'

Everyone: 'WHAT?! O_O'

Kikumaru was just drinking some water when he heard this and spit his water out on Momo. 'WHAAAAAAAAAT?! No way! I don't want that! He's going to scold us for sure!' He said whining.

Momo: 'AAAHHH GROOOSSS! KIKUMARUUUUUUU!'

Kikumaru was still in shock so he took another sip of his water.

Oshi: '...Ehm...oke...well.. he'll be here in an hour..'

'WHAAAT!? NO WAY!' They all yelled again. Causing Kikumaru too spit his water out on Momo again.

Momo got an angry/evil look on his face and said: '...KiiiiikuuumaaaRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I AM SO GOING TO GET YOU FOR THIS! I really am!'

Kikumaru: 'NO.. WAIT.. STOP IT..! STOP! STOOOOOOOOOP! DON'T COME THIS WAY! BACK OFF! BACK OFF! WAAAAAHHHH!' He ran to the other end of the house yelling: 'NOOOOOOOO... I DON'T WANNAAAAAA! WAAAAAAHHH!'

The rest sighed and Oishi continued.

Oishi: 'Well guys.. prepare... for the worst..' Everyone's faces got pale and nodded. (Except for Fuji who was staying calm the whole time. *HOW?!*)

In the mean time Kikumaru was running away from Momo.

Momo: 'STOP RIGHT THERE! YOU ARE GOING TO GET SOKED WITH WATER UNTIL I'M SATISFIED! You are!' Kikumaru whined: 'Nooooooo... Oishi help...Oishiiiiiiiiiiiii...OISHIIIIIIIIII HEEEEEEEEEEELP!'

Momo was running after Kikumaru with a bucket of water while screaming he had to stand still. Kikumaru threw everything he could find at Momo. He threw : Books, flowers (there was a vase of water and flowers standing on a little table in the hall. He wanted to throw the water in it as well but he didn´t

had enough time while running so he decided to just leave it like that.) and...well... a lot of other stuff he could find. Momo managed to dodge it all but... he ran into chairs and tables.. So the chairs and tables we´re now laying around EVERYWHERE! It was a mess!

They we´re still running around in the house when Kikumaru got an idea.

He ran in a big room with an open window in it and jumped out of the window. 'YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY FROM ME! You're not!' Momo screamed and jumped out off the window as well. They we´re now running around the house like little kids who we´re playing a game.

Momo: 'STOP RIGHT THERE!'

Kikumaru crying/whining: 'Whoaaaa... Oishiiiii...'

Momo: 'No wait! Don't jump over the hedge! Eeeeeehhh... That's not fare...!'

Kikumaru laughed and ran as fast as he can. Momo decided to jump over the hedge as well and ran after him. Kikumaru threw all the sticks he could find at Momo and ran as fast as he could.

Momo: 'WHOAA! THAT'S DANGEROUS YOU KNOW!'

Kikumaru: 'hehe..! then stop chaising me! Hehe..!'

Momo: 'Hmpf..'

They we're running in the forest for a long time and then came by the same hedge again. They jumped over it and started running around the house nearing the front door. And that.. wasn't a very good idea..

At the same time Tezuka arrived and was just looking around the house when he saw Momo and Kikumaru coming running around the corner. Tekuka gave them a glare and Kikumaru stood suddenly still..frozen.. Momo didn't see it and said: 'HA I GOT YOU! I did!' And then he threw the bucket of water over Kikumaru who still stood there.. frozen..

The water was dripping (both of them. Momo got wet of the two glasses of water.) on the ground when they stood there.. frozen..staring at Tezuka..

Tezuka's head turned in their direction and he yelled: '50 laps around the house!' They both yelled: 'HAI! (Yes, sir!)' and started running laps still a bit frightened of Tezuka´s cold stare.

It seemed like the rest of the regulars heard something going on outside so they went to take a look. They all froze a bit when they saw Tezuka standing there with a deathly glare on his face. '*Gulp* T-tezuka.. ehm..eh..good that you're here..!' Oishi said feeling quite nervous. Tezuka turned his head slowly to them with another deathly glare on his face and said: 'Everyone.. 100 LAPS AROUND THE HOUSE! NOW!' They all gulped and began running around the house. It seemed like Tezuka was quite angry.. And off course Fuji smiled and started running after them, not affected at all. Still as calm as ever. They wondered who was scarier Fuji or Tezuka.. Probably Fuji..

#"#"#"#

Later they we're sitting in the living room and explaining everything to Tezuka carefully. They really hoped that he wouldn't get mad again.. Well, there was one thing positive about the running. Momo and Kikumaru weren't wet anymore! Luckily Tezuka had stayed calm the whole time, that was a relief. After explaining and discussing everything for about 3 hours they we're finally done. The policy was already searching everywhere so there wasn't much they could do. Although they really wanted to help.. They decided to go on with the training camp for a bit since Echizen would have wanted that. And Echizen would probably get mad at them if they didn't.

So the training went on (with Tezuka this time). They ran in the woods, played tennis matches and did a lot of other tennis training. So went the days on until the end of the training camp came.

Today they're going back to school again. And then hoping that the policy would let something hear of them quick.

'EVERYONE IN THE BUS OR WE'LL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU!' Oishi yelled.

'You let them wait any longer Kikumaru-senpai. You shouldn't.' Said Momo.

'But... I was in the middle of tennis training... Okay okay I'm coming!' Said Kikumaru.

'Pssssshhhjjj.' Kaidoh.

Kikumaru cheered up after he saw the big bus standing there. 'HOI HOI SEIGAKU HERE WE COME! :)' Kikumaru yelled happily.

After a few hours in the bus they finally arrived. They happily walked around the curds they missed so much. But they didn't forget Echizen of course. They we're actually still quite worried about him. They really hoped the policy would find him soon.. And of course the whole tennis club wanted to hear what happened so they explained. It was a long story but when they we're done everyone was gaping at them. They didn't believe it at first but.. but now that all the regulars had told them they had to believe it. The five first years we're quite sad and worried so Oishi said to Momo that he should try to cheer them up a bit. Momo tried but he was quite worried and sad himself to. So it didn;t work that well...

The time went on and on but they still hadn't heard anything.. Well they actually didn't really expect it to happen at the same day that they had come back.. But they had really hoped they would..! They all went home when it was getting late and decided that they would just have to wait..

'Hopefully.. hopefully nothing bad would happen to Echizen.' They all thought worriedly.

**Well that was the end of the chapter again. Sorry that it was this short again.. I'll try to update as much as I can but until then read this chapter. :p **

**...I am really using the word: 'They' too much. XD Ah well never mind. :p**

**If you have any good ideas for the next chapter please tell me! :) ;) ! **

**Byeee!**


	5. Chapter 5: Mountains and bad luck

**Hello! Sorry that I'm posting so late.. I'm kind off busy at the moment. (school..) Well let's just get started. ;) :p**

**Chapter 5: Mountains and bad luck. **

It was early in the morning when Echizen woke up. At home he would sleep for hours but here in the forest.. Well.. a wooden floor isn't so comfortable to sleep on.. Neither is a de ground outside and sleeping in the trees isn't his favorite place to sleep either. He rubbed his eyes and looked around a bit. Where did the squirrel go? He stood up and began searching. He didn't really understand why he started to care about the little animal at first, but later he understood that it wasn't bad to have some company when you're all alone. He looked around in the house, outside, in the trees... But he couldn't find him. He even called him a view times. Two hours had past already and he almost started to think that the little animal wouldn't come back. But just at that moment, just when he wanted to give up the squirrel jumped out off a tree and sat in front of him.

'There you are! Where we're you all this time?! I have been looking all over the place!' He sighed and looked at the squirrel wondering we're he was all this time. The squirrel ran a few meters and had a look in his eyes that said: 'Are you coming or what?!'

'Fine fine I'm coming I'm coming!' He walked behind the squirrel with a bored face. 'So where are you planning to go?!' **(Okay it seems like I make a lot of mistakes with 'we're, were and where' Sorry about that. Well not that you guys said it was wrong but I'm not really sure myself. So just ignore it if you see that. Okay ;)'**

After a while they started to see some rocks and more rocks and more and more and more. The trees started to disappear slowly and more and more rocks came into view.

'A mountain..? Not a big one though.. So what are we going to do here?'

The squirrel ran up the mountain a bit and stopped by a little water flow.

'Oh I get it! You're smart! So the water for drinking (not enough for washing), the berries around the river for food and the mountain to see which way we need to go!' The squirrel nodded and started drinking from the water. Echizen did the same.

When they where full and not thirsty anymore they started to climb the mountain. After like two hours off climbing they finally reached the top. Echizen had a lot of scratches though. The biggest one was on his back. It was pretty painful.. It was a few inches deep and went from the bottom of his back (left) to his upper side of his back (right). It was bleeding pretty bad but he decided to ignore it. The other wounds were still there but had stopped bleeding. So he just assumed that this one would to. But even if he ignored it, it still hurt.

They rested for an hour or so and then stood back up again. He really hoped he could see the city from here. Looking around he saw that he was in the middle of it. It surprised him how big it was. When he looked to the left he saw the big river and waterfall where he started from. But it was so small he could barely see it. And then looking at the right he saw a small city. The city was really far away as well. He wondered if it hadn't been better to climb the cliff.. Well it didn't really matter anymore. So it was better if he just continued walking to the city.

They searched for food and water, looked around and rested, started to feel bored and found a cave to sleep in. The day ended rather quickly. It started to get dark and they decided to get back into the cave. While sitting in the cave they looked at the stars that shined in the dark night.

'...So it seems like you'll stay with me, huh..?'

The squirrel didn't say anything but nodded in agreement.

Echizen smiled and said while falling in sleep: 'Thanks..for..staying..with me.. Let's...go...home...together..!'

He fell asleep with a smile on his face. The squirrel made himself comfortable in Echizen's arms and fell asleep as well.

# #

*the same day but then with the regulars*

'Man.. How unfair.. why is the helicopter defect at a time like this..?!' Momo said feeling grumpy.

'YEAH! What if Echizen was just today on a mountain or something?! Then we could have spotted him!' Kikumaru said.

'Guys come on. We have been searching for a long time already. I know that everyone is worried but it's just one day. It's not like we got really bad luck today just because the helicopter is defect today! Don´t worry we will continue searching tomorrow morning! ' Said Oishi.

Well Oishi.. You have never been so wrong before..! Bad luck it seems.. :p

**Well that´s the end of the chapter again. Sorry that it was so short.. But I have a test week from school. But it felt so long ago that I wrote a chapter. So I decided to do a short one for you guys. ;)**

**If you have good ideas for the next chapter please tell me! **

**Well bye! :p **


	6. Chapter6:A bear and a depressed Echizen

**Hello! I'm back again. The test week is over so I have more time now. Reminds me that I still have to check my grades. I forget that all the time.. XD The exams are getting closer though.. But we'll see how much time I'll have then so don't worry about it for now, okay. ;) :p **

**Let's see...I don't have much more to say so let's begin! :p **

**Chapter 6: An annoying bear and a depressed Echizen. **

Echizen woke up from a warm breeze in his neck. He wondered what it was.. Not that he was planning to open his eyes yet.

Still refusing to open his eyes, he felt something struggle in his arms. It was soft..and..small..like..fur..or something like that... He opened his eyes slightly, just enough to see a brown little animal in his arms. Oh yeah..squirrel.. He let the squirrel go, who ran away immediately after that. 'Huh..? Stupid squirrel..?' He said still feeling sleepy. Again he fell a warm breeze in his neck. He wanted to say that the squirrel had to stop breeding hot air in his neck but.. then he realised.. that the squirrel just ran away.. 'Then what...is...that..?' He said slowly while sitting up and rubbing his eyes. 'I-T-T..' His back felt sore.. He sighed when he saw the cave all around him. Man..did he really sleep here..?! Then he remembered the hot air in his neck and the running squirrel again.. The stupid squirrel had looked a bit frightened he remembered.. Still not getting it, he decided to turn around and see it for himself. What he then saw scared the shit out of him. His eyes shot open and then he mumbled a bit frightened: 'A..a..a..a..b-b-bear...!' He wasn't scared of things like that normally but..this time..it was different.. The bear was huge! And well...brown and...bear-like..! They stared at each other for a few minutes before Echizen decided to run away. Now he understood why the stupid squirrel had ran away a few minutes ago..!

He stood up and started running but before he could even take two steps he got smacked down to the ground again. He lay on the ground for a while and then slowly stood up again. It seemed like the bear wasn't planning to let him leave.. His back hurt..it hurt even more than before.. 'Stupid bear, it was already sore don't go knocking people down like that!' Echizen said annoyed. It may be a big strong bear and he may be just a normal tennis player who is a bit frightened from that huge bear... (Well a bit better than normal maybe but that's not the point!) ...but that didn't mean he had to show it! NO he wouldn't show that bear that he was even the slightest, tiny bit scared! (The bear didn't even deserve the title of 'stupid ...') So he decided to run (again). He stood up quickly and made a run for it.

After a while of running he finally found it okay to look behind him. Pfew.. the bear hadn't followed him. That was close..! He looked around him wondering where he was and saw that he was back on the ground again.

'Well..I guess that ended well.. But..where is the squirrel..?! I know he ran away the moment I let go of him but..he has to be around somewhere.' He said to himself while looking around. He really hoped he would find him soon.

Now that he could finally calm down and not having to feel anxious again, he started to feel his back again. It really hurt..! His shirt was sticking on his back so he took it off. What he then saw shocked him. A: There was blood everywhere. It was soaked with blood. And B: There were three big cuts in his shirt.. It seemed like the bear had really used his claws big time..! No wonder it hurt so much.. But since he didn't had anything else to wear he just put on the thorn shirt full of blood again.

He hadn't looked at himself for a long time. (Not that he could anyway. There were no rivers or mirrors around. He just used the rain and the juicy berries instead of water.) He wondered how he looked like now.

Well Kikumaru and Oishi would freak out for sure he thought chuckling. And then the others too off course. But the rest wouldn't be as shocked as those two. 'Yeah..It would be nice if I could go back again..' He thought with a sad smile.

He looked at his pants, legs, arms, shirt and the rest he couldn't really see. There were wounds and scratches on his skin, blood on his skin and clothes, thorn clothes, mud everywhere, he was tired as hell, began to get pretty thin and pale, wild eyes and who knows what I forgot. And don't forget that he missed his friends and family and was bored as hell!

He walked slowly though the forest hoping that he would find his little squirrel friend. Stupid squirrel I mean..!

His back hurt pretty bad and he hoped that it wasn't too serious.. It was bleeding like crazy..well..probably... Well anyway it was hard to walk like this and it hurt, so he found it fare if he could take a break for a change.

He sat down slowly and almost wanted to lean against a tree, but quickly changed his mind and sat down straight. He wanted to lean against the tree but his back hurt, so he couldn't. Echizen was quite annoyed so you could almost feel a dark aura coming from Echizen. What was quite..scary..to be honest..

'Stupid squirrel..! Where are you?! You need to come back!' Although it sounded more like a order than a question..

It was probably the best if he slept a bit. He knew it was still the middle of the day but he felt tired already. Must have been because:

A: He always sleeps in his classes. And he had been walking for weeks already. So he didn't sleep as much as normal.

B: The wound on his back just hurt too much to keep walking.

And C: THAT STUPID BEAR HAD WOKEN HIM WAY TO EARLY! He could've let him sleep a little longer you know. It wasn't like he would run away while he was sleeping. He sighed and lay down on the ground. But in a way it wouldn't hurt his back to much of course. He felt his eyes closing slowly and then finally fell asleep.

He woke up a few hours after that. The squirrel was sitting next to him and was waiting for him to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and blinked at the squirrel.

'...Where were you? I have been searching everywhere for you.' He said a bit annoyed. The squirrel didn't answer and ran away. 'HEY WAIT FOR ME! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! I-T-T my back. Hmpf, I sound like an old man.' He yelled and mumbled at himself.

The squirrel stopped and waited for Echizen to come. When he came closer he saw that the squirrel was sitting next to a bear trail. You could see that the bear had been here a short while ago.

'...This could be dangerous..We have to move on quickly. Everything is so annoying.' He sighed and started walking. It was going slowly but it was better than a few hours ago. He could move a bit better and faster. The wound will stay there for a while but I will probably be able to live with it after a few days. The first few days will be tough though.

The days went by and the wound didn't hurt that much anymore. His shirt was still drained with blood off course and the wound (The three stripes wounds from the claws of the bear. Sorry I didn't have a better explanation.. XD) was still there, but he was able to live with it and was able to move normally now. (He looked horrible though.. T_T... Echizen: 'HEEEEYYY!')

It had been weeks and weeks since the accident with the rocks, river and the waterfall already. And the only thing he ate were berries. He started to get really bored of it. It wasn't so good for his health either. He was getting very thin and pale. If there didn't change something then..then..he would get sick for sure.. He had been trying to find other food of course but there just wasn't anything else... The squirrel seemed to be fine with just the berries and the other little things he found though. (No way Echizen was going to eat those other little things bleehh.)

If he could only find something else to eat..or..or..if he could just get out of this..this..STUPID forest.. It's starting to get to much. He wasn't sure if he could keep this up much longer.. It felt like he could collapse any moment. And what then? What would happen to him then?! It's not like they'll find him in a few minutes. They won't even be able to find him in a few days.. no not even in a few weeks! It had been weeks already since he had fallen of the cliff. And they didn't find him yet so why would they find him now?! The only way he could think of was getting to that stupid city at the other side of the forest. If he had only stayed by the waterfall. If he had only stayed in the open. If only he had climbed the rocks. If only, if only... He normally wouldn't act this way.. But now..now he was desperate..it's just getting to much.. He didn't know how long he could keep up with this.. Could he even keep up with this.. Was it even worth it to keep going on like this..?

Did he...even care...what happened to him...?

**Yeah! Chapter done! Sorry for the way Echizen is acting right now.. but it seemed like something like this just had to happen too you know. Well we'll see what happens in the next chapter! And yeah yeah I know it isn't very Echizen-like but just live with it for now, okay?! ;) **

**If you have any good idea's please tell me about it. ;) What should happen in the next chapter? Other things? Please tell me! **

**Well, see you guys next chapter! ;) Byeee!**


	7. Chapter 7: The plan!

**Hello hello I'm back again! I think this will be the last chapter maybe one more.. I'm not sure yet but it is almost the end. ;) **

**Let's get this story started! :) **

**Chapter 7: The plan!**

Echizen was walking slowly, thinking of how he could get out of this mess. If there even was a way.. He didn't even bother looking at the squirrel. It didn't matter anyway..

The squirrel was getting sick of the way Echizen acted. This wasn't like him you know. Very well then, he would help him a bit.

He jumped in the tree a few feet further and waited for Echizen to come walking under it/by it (sorry for that I wasn't sure.) Echizen didn't even see him going away. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even bother to look around him.

The squirrel jumped down from the tree and landed on Echizen's head. Echizen didn't expect that and jumped up a bit.

'What are you doing?!' Echizen yelled annoyed. 'I-T-T-T-T' The squirrel had bitten him in the ear. A little bit of blood came out of his ear. He rubbed at his ear and said annoyed and mad: 'What did you do that for?!' The squirrel looked at him with a look that said: 'Think you idiot! This isn't like you. Get yourself together already!'

Echizen stared at the squirrel for a moment. (He had jumped of his head and was sitting on the ground now.)

'Sorry.. Your right. I.. I just have to find another way to be found and.. and then I just have to find another way to get food.' He said more confident now. They sat down under a tree and started to come up with a plan. Going to the city wasn't a good idea so they had to come up with something else. The city was just too far away. It already took weeks to get to this point. And they were only half way. And about the food..well..they had to get something else then berries. They started to think and think and think.

**Two hours later:**

'Okay, so this is the plan. We'll get some wood that's laying on the ground and then we'll go back to the mountain to steal the food of the bear. After that we'll climb to the top of the mountain and we'll start making a fire. We'll make a lot of smoke so they'll see us clearly. And in the meantime we'll bake the meat that we stole from the bear. Sounds good right?!'

The squirrel nodded at this and they started their plan.

After an hour of wood gathering they finally had enough. It was just enough to make a fire and just enough to keep it in one hand. He still needed to climb the mountain of course. And the squirrel couldn't help with wood. What he could do was showing Echizen which wood was good enough to use. Wood that was soaked with the rain wasn't going to help. So they needed dry wood, that would burn easily and smoke a lot.

The plan was to go to the cafe of the bear after the wood gathering but Echizen decided that it was better to get the wood to the top of the mountain first. They started climbing the mountain again and brought the wood to the top. They rested for a bit and started climbing to the cave of the bear. All this climbing hurt Echizen's back a bit though. He felt that his back started bleeding pretty bad again but decided to ignore it.

**At the cave:**

They looked inside without making too much noise. They really hoped that the bear wasn't inside cause that would ruin their plan. It was a big risk for sure.. But even if they wouldn't be able to get food from the bear, even then the plan wouldn't fail completely. It's true that he said the plan would fail if they didn't get the food. But that wasn't completely true. It would just be a lot harder. They would still be able to make a fire with the wood they had gathered.

It was dark inside of the cave. They couldn't see very clearly but they did see that there was no bear and a lot of meat in the cafe.

They walked in the cave as quiet and as quick as possible, grabbed some food and hurried outside again. Just when Echizen started to think it was too easy, he heard a sound behind him. It was...the bear..!

His eyes widened and he screamed to the squirrel: 'RUN! QUICK!'

They ran and climbed as quick as they possibly could and managed to get to a point where the bear could not reach them. The bear was able to get his leg though.. No, no don't worry it's not like his whole leg was off. Don't worry, don't worry. It was just that his leg got a big cut from the claws of the bear, just like on his back. He laid to food down next to the wood and looked at his leg. It hurt a bit..true.. And it was bleeding a lot..true.. But it was just the same as all his other wounds. So he didn't worry that much about it.

An hour went by again as he was trying to get a fire on. It was more difficult as he thought. 'Damn fire.' He thought annoyed. The squirrel didn't care though he just lay down and watched Echizen struggle. It was pretty funny to see Echizen getting so worked up about it. Echizen looked annoyed at the squirrel, he was starting to get on his nerves but decided to ignore it.

'Finally! The fire is on!' He sounded a bit too happy and tried to cover his smile. He looked a bit embarrassed but came to a conclusion that no one could see him so that it didn't really mattered. But still, he still wanted to keep his emotions under control, just like he always did. But here in the forest..it was..a bit more..difficult..

He roasted some of the meat and lay it down next to him. He would eat it later. He put his shirt out and waved it above the fire. First a little bit of smoke..then more..and more.. and more.. The air above him started to fill itself with smoke. It was quite obvious. He really hoped this would work. It had been so long already.. weeks.. he hoped they didn't stopped searching for him.. no probably not. He smiled and started eating some of the meat. He looked at the big forest he was all this time in..all alone.. NO.. he wasn't alone! He had the squirrel. Stupid squirrel. His friend. He smiled and looked at his friend who was eating nuts. The squirrel looked back at him. They were both pretty happy. They looked at the forest, the waterfall, the city.. And they both remembered all the other things that happened. The time the met, the time they slept in the little house.. and all the other things.. It made them happy.

'You'll come with me right..' He smiled and continued: '...stupid squirrel?!' The squirrel smiled back at him (well probably) and jumped on his head as a sign of 'yes'. It was starting to get his favorite place. Echizen smiled at his answer and leaned back a bit. They stared at the sky what looked like a few minutes maybe even seconds. The time went by so quickly. They didn't even realize that there was a helicopter coming they're way. They didn't realize that the hours went by and by and by. They were both happy. Not that Echizen didn't wanted to go home though. He really did wanted to go home.. But.. not without..stupid squirrel.. not without.. **his friend..!**

**Yeaahh! And that was the end of the chapter again! Next chapter is probably going to be the last. Don't worry he will be found and go home next chapter. With stupid squirrel of course. ;) Let's see.. no I don't have anything else to say. :p Please review and then I'll see you guys next time! **

**BYEEE! :p **


	8. Chapter 8: Home again! :)

**HEEEEYY! **

**Sorry that it took so long.. To be honest.. I don't have an excuse.. *laughs nervously* We have a nice weather here in Holland though. It was barely winter. It didn't even snow. (That is really weird!) And now it is just spring for a week or so. And it is already getting to 16, 17,18,19 and sometimes 20 *C (couldn't find the round thing) Maybe that's cold for you guys but it is really warm for us. **

**But okay I'll stop talking about the weather and go on with the story! **

**And like I said this is probably going to be the last chapter! So enjoy! :p**

While they were staring at the clouds the helicopter got closer. They shot back in reality when they heard some yelling and a loud sound. (helicopter) The helicopter was above them and the people in it had thrown out a ladder. The people were signing at him that he had to grab the ladder so he did. He walked over to where the ladder was and hung on to it. The helicopter went high up in the sky and the people in the helicopter were busy pulling to boy up. The squirrel was holding on to Echizen. He was really frightened but didn't show it. He wouldn't let Echizen down. The flight in the helicopter took about an hour or so. They had called the police to inform that Echizen had been found. And the police again had called everyone else. The people in the helicopter had tried to talk to Echizen and had tried to ask some questions but he refused to talk so they had given up on him. They had also tried to bandage him but he had just waved them of and looked the other way. They all just sighed and left him alone all thinking of how stubborn he was. Then they noticed the squirrel sitting on his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him. He gave them a deadly glare that said: 'Don't..you..dare..to..take..him..away..from..me!' They all just sighed (again) and mumbled that they were too old for this and that the policeman, doctors and nurses would have to take care of him. He was just too stubborn.

Everyone had been informed that Echizen had been found and would be brought to the hospital. They were a bit surprised about that. They would expect some things like scratches and stuff but not something that would cause the boy to go to the hospital. The regulars and the first years went to the hospital as quick as possible. The two first year girls, the coach and Echizen's parents would come later because of some things going on. (Think of something. I never like the worried parents stuff and just want the tennis boys for now. :) I do find the father funny though but he would just get in the way. And the two girls are just a bit annoying. *Echizen I SO agree with you!* And the coach well..I don't feel like having her here. :p)

They all hurried to the hospital and waited for the helicopter to arrive. The nurses had said that they were allowed to go to the hospital room where Echizen would be laying in. He wasn't there yet though. The nurses said that he would arrive in a half an hour or so and they didn't know in what condition he was in yet. The people in the helicopter had called the police and the hospital as soon as they saw the boy. They didn't know yet in what condition he would be in back then. They had all just nodded nervously. 15 minutes had past and they started to get really impatient.

Normally they would be screaming and yelling frustrated that they had to hurry up. But now..now they were just too nervous for that. How bad could it be that he had to go to the hospital and all..?! They waited and waited what seemed like hours but it was just a few minutes. And then finally the a nurse came running in saying that the helicopter had just arrived and that he would be here in just a few minutes. They all looked up and stared at the door until Echizen would finally walk in. Then the nurse came finally back with a doctor and they all waited for Echizen to come and walk in.

**In the mean time:**

(the funny thing is that every time again and again the computer sais that Echizen is spelled wrong. Well duh! But the funny thing is that they give you one suggestion of what it could be. And that word is _chosen _. So funny if you think about it XD. Like: Chosen stepped out of the helicopter and walked after the nurses. Just to funny! XD ehum sorry let's go on :p) Chosen I mean Echizen stepped out of the helicopter and walked after the nurses. They had tried to get him on a bed but he just gave them a glare and walked further still not saying a thing.

They all stared at him when he walked though the hospital. They were surprised at the squirrel on his shoulder and at his ripped closed and wounds and.. well to much to explain. Let's say he looked awful. I'm not going to explain how he looks cause I'm going to do that when he steps in the hospital room. ;)

'You're in room number 305.' The nurse said friendly. Echizen nodded in response and walked over to the room. 'Wait a second okay.' The nurse said and again Echizen nodded. She walked in the room and probably said that they all shouldn't look to shocked and shouldn't ask to much questions. And bla bla bla. He sighed and waited (im)patient. All because he looked awful and didn't talk the hole flight. Why did that matter anyway. He just didn't feel like talking that's all. He was bored as well. SO BORED! Ugh this was boring boring boring. He wondered if the nurse would say other things as well and then remembered the squirrel on his shoulder. He looked at the squirrel and gave him a small smile and whispered 'Sorry..I didn't mean to..But they are all just too boring..sorry..' The squirrel smiled back at him and they both decided that they weren't planning to talk or smile yet. Just a little payback since it took them so long to rescue him. Mah, not that he needed someone to rescue him anyway. He could've gotten home by himself if he would've just walked for another week or two. But since that was too much trouble he decided that they were allowed to rescue him just this once. But that didn't mean he had to talk. If he did talk then it would mean that he would have to tell everything. No really EVERYTHING! So also everything about the squirrel and bla bla bla. He was planning to tell them later but just NOT YET! Luckily no one had heard him talking and smiling to the squirrel. Since he and the squirrel had decided not to talk and smile yet.

There was no one around. Just he and the squirrel. He was happy about that though. He was getting used to being alone with the squirrel. And he wasn't used to all the talking around him yet. And he didn't forget that there were probably a lot of people in the room. He knew that only the people of tennis would be there since his parents were at work and doing stuff like that. *Again think of something they are doing. Cause his dad is NOT working off course duh. Probably reading porn or something like that.*

This is going to be a long day the both thought while sighing in they're head. They're face remained a bored expression though.

After a minute or two the nurse came out of the room again and signed that he was allowed to come in. He still found it a bit weird that they let a patient wait outside while he needed to be treated and stuff like that. He guessed the thinking only took a minute or so while it seemed like ten minutes. Well he didn't mind though. He was able to talk to the squirrel a bit and come to a conclusion together. He also didn't feel like seeing everyone and being treated yet. Like he said it was going to be a loooooong day..

He walked in the room with a bored expression on his face and sat down at the bed allowing the doctor to look him over and bandage him and..well..things like that. He saw the others look horrified at him and rolled his eyes mentally. (He didn't show it to the others.)

**In the mind of the others:**

They were shocked, he looked horrible. There was dirt all over him and his clothes where ripped and torn. There were some cuts and dried up blood on his face. His hair was messy and stood up straight because of a lot of dried up blood. They assumed that he had a large cut on his head. When they looked down they saw his shirt cut up and blood and dirt everywhere. There were wounds on his arms and more dried up blood and wounds. When he took his shirt off 'because the doctor asked him to' they saw cuts at the front. And when the doctor asked him to turn around they saw three big cuts what looked like the claws of a wild animal.

He was skinny and pale. He was so skinny that you could see his backbone though his skin. Now that he was turned around they could see the wound on his head more clearly it seemed like an old wound. The doctor and the nurses were busy with cleaning him up and bandaging his upper body. He still sat with his back turned to them so they couldn't see his legs very well yet. His upper body looked a little bit better when he was cleaned up and bandaged but he instead looked like some sort of mummy..

They were worried about him, very worried. He hadn't said a thing yet.. The nurse had said it before but still.. The nurses said he was just being stubborn and that he seemed to be just fine. They hoped he felt fine. But they still felt worried.

The doctor had asked Echizen to turn around again so that they could treat his legs. They all looked up worriedly. Echizen turned around and let the doctor and nurse treat the wounds on his legs. The clothes on his legs there were the same as his shirt. Torn and ripped, dried up blood and a lot of mud. How did he get so much mud everywhere anyway?! (Remember the first time he and the squirrel met. *When he fell in the mud pool/bath*)

They saw that he had *just like on his back* three big cuts what seemed like a wild animal had did it on his leg. The other parts of his legs had normal cuts and wounds. But still.. They were really worried about him. How did he get all those wounds anyway?! They would just have to ask him later. The nurse had said that they shouldn't ask to much questions but they just couldn't help it. They would ask later when the doctor and nurse were gone.

Then they all suddenly looked surprised. There was a squirrel sitting beside Echizen. (You didn't think that I forgot about him ne?! Hahahaha :p ) What was a squirrel doing there?! Okay they REALLY had to ask some questions later! They also noticed that he and the squirrel had a bored expression one they're faces. They weren't that surprised about that. It was pretty normal for him to look bored. That was his expression the most of the time. They all mentally laughed at this. They were happy that they finally found him again. You just can't play tennis without Echizen. :)

The doctor and nurse were done and said that he would be just fine. He had some fierce wounds and was not allowed to play sports for two weeks. But that wasn't just because of the wounds. He was weaker than normal because he was very skinny and pale. They gave him some paper and pen and said that when he felt a little bit better he should write what he ate and what happened the last few weeks. They said that it would be important for them to know where he got his wounds from and stuff like that. Then they would know what kind of medicine he would need (Maybe he got bacteria from the wounds. Depends on how he got them. I'm not sure if that's true though. Just making it up. :p) They also needed to know what he ate most of the time. That would be important for his health as well. Then they left and let him alone with his friends. They also wanted to say that animals weren't allowed in the hospital but decided to let it slide when they saw his deadly glare.

It was silent for a long time before one of them decided to speak.

'Echizen..ehm..how do you feel..? I'm...really sorry about what happened..' Taka-san said feeling guilty. 'I feel fine, thanks. Don't worry about it it's not you're fold.' Echizen said back with a little smile. Everyone sighed with relief now that they saw Echizen smile again. They asked what happened and asked a lot of other questions like:

'Are you really okay?!'

'What's with those huge wounds on your back and leg?! It looks like the claws of some wild animal!'

'And why were you covered in mud?! It was like all over the place!'

'Your pale.. and really skinny..what did you eat all this time?'

'What did you do all this time? Tell us! We would like to hear all you're stories!'

'How did you get all your clothes ripped?! And how did you get all those other wounds?!'

'How did they found you? We have been looking for weeks already, so how did they all suddenly find you?!'

'What happened after you fell down the cliff?'

'AND WHAT IS WITH THAT SQUIRREL?! WHERE DID YOU GET IT? WHY IS IT WITH YOU? WHY IS IT SO TAME?'

'Guys, remember what the nurse said?! We weren't allowed to ask too much questions! Remember that he is just back.' Fuji said. And some others nodded at this. 'Sorry..' said the ones who were asking questions all this time. Echizen sighed and said: 'Nah..it's fine. I'll tell you.' Then he started telling the story. About when he fell down, the river and the waterfall, the high cliff, his first plan-the city, about some of his wounds, when he met the squirrel, the mud bath, the little house, the mountain, the bear, the new plan, the bear again, the fire, the helicopter and all the rest. He didn't tell them about his depression and let out the most of talks with the squirrel. They didn't need to know all that. They all listened and nodded from time to time. Sometimes they were surprised or laughed. And sometimes they were shocked or horrified. They talked about what happened at home and talked about the search as well as the part that they couldn't find him until now. They laughed and everything was just fine again.

The days went on and his parents and friends came to visit from time to time. He quickly healed and could finally play tennis again. Everything went back to normal. Except for a few changes. He was faster than ever after all that walking through the woods and it just seemed like he couldn't get out of breath. Echizen found it pretty funny that he was so much faster than the rest though.. And the squirrel was always with him. Every time someone asked what the name of the squirrel was he answered with: 'Stupid squirrel.' And every time again and again they would blink surprised and they wouldn't get it at all. Echizen would then just sigh and walk away instead of explaining that that was the squirrels real name. Well kind of. He got used to it. Don't blame him! It just happened to go that way! It's not so easy to change something like that. And they were both fine with it so why would he change it.

Life went on and everything was just fine. Everything in the woods was over except for his friend the stupid squirrel. He smiled and looked at the squirrel who looked back at him smiling. Everything was going to be..just..fine..! :) They both smiled and went back to the others who waved happily at them.

Tezuka had said a few times that he shouldn't let his guard down ever again, Kikamaru would hug him to dead everyday *sigh*, Fuji would smile *sometimes smile really creepy*, Momo would be hanging out with him, they would eat sushi at Taka-san's place, Oishi would say all kinds of motherly things, Inui would give them training menus and scare and poison them with his Inui juices *shivers*, Kaidoh would be saying tchhhh, Kaidoh and Momo would be in a fight from time to time again and again, the first years would be annoying but he quested they could be fun to be with to, and that's the same for the two girls, his mom would be happy that he was home, same for his niece (she is his niece right?!), he would be playing tennis with his dad and his dad would be really annoying at the same time, the coach would be coach like and sometimes creepy and then you would have the rest of all the other schools. He maybe even forgot someone. Well everything seems fine, right?! And he ran together with stupid squirrel to his friends to play tennis with them. Finally..he could play tennis again!

It was nice..to be..home again..! :)

**THE END! **

**The story is done! Over! This was the last chapter! Did you like it? I hope you did :p I have to say this was a looooooong chapter. XD Much longer than I normally do. :p Well I'll be going now. ;) I'm planning to write more stories but those will probably be about naruto. Some maybe about kuroko no basket. Well we'll see. ;) :p Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I would like to hear your opinions about this story :p Maybe I'll see you guys another time :p Byeee! :) **


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